Renteria Wants To Retire With Cardinals Or Marlins

One way or another, Edgar Renteria wants to bring his career full circle and return to the site of his postseason heroics. Few other players could say this and still keep their options open, but Renteria has some choices. Changing course from a recent statement that he would prefer to return to the Giants, Renteria told reporters in his hometown of Barranquilla, Colombia yesterday that he would like to retire playing either for the Cardinals or the Marlins (link in Spanish).

Over the course of nearly an hour of questioning, Renteria explained that he had been undecided about retirement following the World Series, so he sought the opinions of the baseball minds he admired most. "God sent me a message through the MVP, and I don't know if he did it so that I would retire or so that I would keep going," Renteria said. "In any case, I spoke with important baseball people like Tony La Russa, Bobby Cox, and Manny Mota, and they suggested that I continue, and I'm motivated."

Renteria reiterated that he is willing to play second base as well as shortstop, though even after his down 2009 campaign, the 35-year-old stands out as a feasible backup and occasional starter on both sides of the bag. Both the Cardinals and the Marlins have their 2009 and 2010 starting middle infields under contract for 2011, though the Cardinal duo of Skip Schumaker and Brendan Ryan customarily leave more opportunities for spot-starts and substitutions than the Marlins' steady Dan Uggla and Hanley Ramirez. Though the Marlins aren't a fit for Renteria now, a spot could open up if they are unable to reach an agreement with Uggla and explore trading the second baseman.